


Unseen Presence

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M, Romance, Sentient Atlantis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-29
Updated: 2011-10-29
Packaged: 2017-10-25 01:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/270270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rodney had always felt an unseen presence on Atlantis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unseen Presence

**Author's Note:**

> Written for **debris_k** for Halloween Trick-or-Treat 2011 -- Sentient!Atlantis.

There were times as he worked alone in his laboratory in the dead of night when Rodney swore he felt a presence in the room. He would glance over his shoulder, half expecting to find Sheppard leaning against the threshold but see only darkened shadows. In the early days of the expedition, he had found that eerie presence creepy, walking along darkened corridors and hearing all manner of strange noises that the rational part of his mind assigned to the normal stress movements of a city floating on an alien sea in another galaxy. The irrational part of his brain saw movement in the deep shadows, heard groans instead of expanding and contracting metal.

Five years on Atlantis had changed much of the scary into the familiar. The groans were a soothing sigh, and the dark shadows held nothing sinister despite the few times when the converse had been true. With two ZPM's powering the city, he had only to feel a little apprehension towards a shadow before it lightened to reveal no hidden, evil presence. Yet, since breaking up with Jennifer, Rodney had noticed that on those occasions when he could not find comfort in that now familiar, unseen presence due to the vagaries or horrors of his day, John would turn up looking all sleep-tousled, barefoot, with BDU's drawn over his sleep boxers but a gun strapped to his thigh.

If pressed John would say he had a dream and couldn't get back to sleep right away. Then he would cajole Rodney into taking a break or escort Rodney back to the quarters he had once planned to share with Jennifer. John would hover on the threshold, eyeing the rumpled bed almost wistfully before walking away, no doubt wishing he was still curled up in his own warm bed instead of wandering the empty corridors. Except, often he would pause a few feet away, tilting his head as if listening for a sound almost too low to hear, and look back over his shoulder. Their eyes would meet and Rodney would catch a glimmer of loneliness that was too quickly shuttered for certainty...until this night.

"You want me!" Rodney whispered; his voice carrying in the silence of the corridor.

In the past, Rodney had thought he understood Sam, Katie, Jennifer, and others, but had ended up making a fool of himself. Tonight, he knew by the sudden flare of panic in John's eyes that he understood all too well, and the thought of John wanting him sent a warm feeling tingling through him. With sudden clarity, Rodney understood why all his other relationships had failed. Since that very first step into Atlantis, he had been drawn to this one person--to John--and no one else compared to him. No one else made him feel safe in a frightening universe, made him question his motives and wish to be a better person for his own sake rather than to fulfill the whims of others.

"John?"

The corridor darkened behind John, as if trying to cut off his retreat, leaving them standing in a pool of warm light by Rodney's door. With every hesitant step towards him, the darkness closed in behind John until they were barely a foot apart. That eerie, comforting presence seemed to enfold Rodney once more, giving him the courage to reach out to John, and he felt comfort turn to joy when John took his hand and allowed Rodney to lead him across the threshold.

Without a command, the door closed on the darkness beyond and the comforting presence slowly dissipated, dimming the lights to a soft and intimate glow.

Wrapped up in sweetness of a first kiss, and the warmth and pleasure of John quickly becoming naked in his arms, Rodney never noticed.

END


End file.
